PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) decisions — 2018

The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD, depression, and anxiety, finding that there was no evidence of a stressor event in service to which the current diagnoses could be related.

The Board has granted a 70 percent rating for PTSD, but the Veteran's appeal is remanded for further evaluation of her PTSD and consideration of TDIU.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for low back disorder, peripheral neuropathy of BUE and BLE, and acquired psychiatric disorder including PTSD and depression due to service. The Veteran will be afforded VA examinations to determine the nature and etiology of these conditions.

The Veteran's appeal is being remanded for additional development, including obtaining VA treatment records and scheduling a new VA examination to assess the severity of his service-connected PTSD. The TDIU issue will also be addressed.

The Board has determined that the Veteran's PTSD had its onset in service and is granted service connection. However, the claim for tinnitus was denied as there is insufficient evidence to link it to service.

The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for left upper extremity neuropathy, a cervical spine disorder, and an acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD due to potential issues with medical opinions and need for further development.

The Veteran's PTSD with major depressive disorder is currently rated at 50 percent from September 6, 2016. The rating reflects the significant impairment in occupational and social functioning.

The Board denied the Veteran's claims for service connection for a bilateral eye disability, initial rating for PTSD (granted at 50%), and TDIU. The claim of service connection for obstructive sleep apnea was also denied.

The Veteran's PTSD resulted in occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas, such as work, relations, judgment, thinking, and mood. Total occupational and social impairment was not shown.

The Veteran's PTSD has been rated as 70 percent disabling since September 18, 2017. The VA Board found that the symptoms of PTSD have resulted in occupational and social impairment with deficiencies in most areas such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood.

The Board has remanded the Veteran's claims for further development, including obtaining medical records and conducting a VA examination to determine if his acquired psychiatric disorder is related to service.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for myalgias, bilateral hearing loss disability, PTSD, a lumbosacral spine disability, and an acquired psychiatric disability other than PTSD (major depressive disorder) have been denied. The Board found no current disabilities due to the claimed conditions or incidents of service.

The Veteran's claim for service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including PTSD and unspecified trauma-and stressor-related disorder; nightmares, is remanded due to the need for additional development.

The Veteran's PTSD has not been manifested by occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, thus the claim for a higher rating is denied. The requirement for TDIU has also not been met.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities did not prevent him from obtaining and following a substantially gainful occupation prior to November 1, 2013.

The Board denied service connection for an acquired psychiatric disorder, including depressive disorder and PTSD, as there was no credible supporting evidence of in-service stressors and the diagnoses were attributed to pre-military childhood abuse.

The Veteran's claims for service connection for prostate disorder, bilateral upper and lower extremity peripheral neuropathies, and acquired psychiatric disorder other than PTSD have been denied as there is no evidence of current disabilities or a causal relationship to service.

The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have precluded him from obtaining and maintaining substantially gainful employment consistent with his education and experience since February 6, 2009.

The Veteran's PTSD was rated at a 50 percent disability rating prior to November 29, 2017. The appeal is granted for this period.

The Veteran's PTSD disability rating was restored from 30% to 50%, effective August 1, 2013. The RO reduced the PTSD rating based on new evidence and VA examination findings.